


we're in this together

by sweetsindle



Series: Dadbastian Week 2019 (Tumblr) [1]
Category: Kuroshitsuji | Black Butler
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Ciel and Sebastian Platonic Week, Dadbastian, Dadbastian Week, Family Drama, Family Feels, Fandom Week, Father-Son Relationship, Fluff and Angst, Found Family, Kuroshitsuji Spoilers, O!Ciel is named "Aster" in this fic like all my others, One Shot, One Shot Collection, Other, Platonic Relationships, Protection Prompt, Tumblr Fandom Week, Tumblr Prompt, and comes to sebastian for comfort, he confides in sebastian quite a bit, not sebaciel, ociel starts to trust sebastian a bit more, sebastian is slowly becoming a father/brother/uncle figure to ociel
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-11-18
Updated: 2019-11-18
Packaged: 2021-01-29 16:57:26
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,179
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21413548
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/sweetsindle/pseuds/sweetsindle
Summary: ᴀsᴛᴇʀ's ʙᴇᴇɴ ᴋɪᴅɴᴀᴘᴘᴇᴅ ᴀɴᴅ ʟᴏʏᴀʟ ᴅᴇᴍᴏɴ ʙᴜᴛʟᴇʀ, sᴇʙᴀsᴛɪᴀɴ, ɪs ᴜᴘ ғᴏʀ ᴛʜᴇ ᴄʜᴀʟʟᴇɴɢᴇ! ʙᴜᴛ ᴛᴡᴏ ʜᴏᴜʀs ʟᴀᴛᴇʀ, ᴀɴᴅ ғɪɴᴅɪɴɢ ʜɪs ʏᴏᴜɴɢ ᴍᴀsᴛᴇʀ ʟᴏᴄᴋᴇᴅ ɪɴ ᴀ ᴄʟᴏsᴇᴛ, ʜᴇᴀᴅ ᴛᴜᴄᴋᴇᴅ ʙᴇᴛᴡᴇᴇɴ ʜɪs ʟᴇɢs ᴀɴᴅ ʜɪs ᴏɴᴇ ᴠɪsɪʙʟᴇ ᴇʏᴇ ғɪʟʟᴇᴅ ᴡɪᴛʜ ᴛᴇᴀʀs ᴀɴᴅ ᴇʏᴇᴘᴀᴛᴄʜ sᴏᴀᴋᴇᴅ,  ɪs ʜᴇ ʀᴇᴀʟʟʏ ʀᴇᴀᴅʏ ғᴏʀ ᴡʜᴀᴛᴇᴠᴇʀ ʜᴀᴘᴘᴇɴs ɴᴇxᴛ?
Relationships: Ciel Phantomhive & Sebastian Michealis
Series: Dadbastian Week 2019 (Tumblr) [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1543675
Comments: 4
Kudos: 50





	we're in this together

**Author's Note:**

> Part one of my little addition to Cosmic Lion's (https://cosmic--lion.tumblr.com/) Dadbastian Week!
> 
> Prompt 1 (Monday): Protection/Stars.

"My my...What an inappropriate place to hide my Young Master. The number of cobwebs is astounding, and I'm sure a duster hasn't touched a single item of furniture in decades!"

A certain demon butler, Sebastian Michaelis, said aloud with an annoyed little "sigh," as he looked around the seemingly "empty" abandoned warehouse. 

"Ah, so the Earl of Phantomhive's butler finally arrived, hm? You got what we want, swell?" A voice coming from behind the butler's back would say, venom dripping from every word that came out of its mouth. "You better make it quick; we don't get all day."

"Yes, of course. I trust you haven't hurt my Young Master? After all, you promised you wouldn't if I came in the time allotted." Sebastian replied, snapping his head in the direction of the voice, coming face to face with a man with mud-brown eyes, rotted teeth, and a disgusting smile. "If he's hurt in any way, as I promised on the phone, there shall be hell to pay...And I never break my promises."

* * *

That day had started like any other. He had "gotten up" at approximately 6:30 AM that morning, after giving himself a much-needed haircut, and a quick clean of the Servant's Hall. From there, he took a quick sweep around the manor to get some dusting and mopping done. 

He soon went down to the kitchen and whipped up a (what he supposed somehow humans considered) delectable breakfast for his master, as well as his favorite tea.

He set the table in his usual record time before going up to wake his master, and get him ready for the day. 

_"Ah, record time, I see. 8:15 and two minutes to spare.." _He mumbled softly, taking a look at the nearby clock mounted on the wall, stopping the cart he had been taking to the master's room. Silently, the butler counted the seconds until it was time to wake his lord and quietly opened the door. 

As quietly as a demon could, Sebastian walked towards the heavy, midnight-blue curtains that covered his lord's windows and gently opened them. "Young Master, it's time to get up."

Like a cat getting up from a lazy afternoon nap, "Ciel" (Aster) Phantomhive, after several moments of blinking the sleep from his mismatched eyes, sat up in his bed, allowing himself to stretch. "Whatever...." The little boy mumbled tiredly, taking the chance to idly rub his eyes as Sebastian approached him with his morning cup of tea and freshly-ironed newspaper. "Today, I'm going to see Lizzy. Early afternoon, for a picnic for something?"

Sebastian nodded, handing the cup and saucer to the younger boy with one of his usual smiles. "That is correct, sir. Today at 12:30, for lunch. I do trust that you got all the work done you promised you would, yesterday? And didn't just get distracted and fall asleep, or 'God' forbid you lied to me, and played instead?" 

The Earl looked up from his cup of tea, glaring daggers at the older being in pure annoyance. "Of course I did, you git. And how many times do I have to tell you, Sebastian? I don't play. I'm not a bloody child."

"Oh, are you sure, my Lord? Two days ago, if I remember, when I left you to do your work, instead you decided it was a good idea to build a castle out of your playing cards? And then, before you knew it, it was time for dinner, and when I asked you about your work, you started to panic. And led to you cramming it all in until three in the morning, throwing the next day's schedule completely off balance. Again?" The butler brought up with a grin, causing the tiny Earl to become even more annoyed than before. 

"Shut up, you prick. I eventually got it done, didn't I?"

"You did, but you went about it in the wrong way...It's not healthy to do that, my Lord. You need to sleep at the proper time and do your work when I ask you to. If you don't, then your overly-tired and grumpy the next morning, so much so that you fall asleep!" Sebastian said with a sigh, taking the teacup away as his lord finished his drink.

"I..." The child started, sounding like he was about to start another fight, until. He just...didn't. He sighed, shaking his head before giving Sebastian a twitch of a shrug, biting the inside of his cheek. "...Suppose your right. I'm sorry, I'll try to get it done in a reasonable time, rather than not."

" -Playing, you mean," 

The Earl shot the older being a look, crossing his arms, letting out a rather adorable 'huff.' "I was NOT playing, Sebastian! I don't bloody PLAY - EVER!"

"Mhm-hm~" Sebastian nodded, trying his best not to laugh as he retreated to his master's closet, quickly and efficiently grabbing a perfectly curated outfit, suit, stockings, ribbon, heels, patch and all, and came back. "Now, sit up, my Lord. We must get you to breakfast, and then immediately afterward, out to London so you can meet Miss Elizabeth at the proper time. We should even try to aim to get there before her, to be safe, alright?"

"Whatever." The teen mumbled softly as he did just that. "Ugh...Why does Lizzy always want me to go on dates with her, anyway? She knows I'm busy-"

"Are we having this conversation again, Young Master?"  
  
Sebastian gave the boy a small chuckle, shaking his head. "You know exactly why. First of all, you're going to get married to her someday, second of all, it's wrong to constantly decline her almost every time she asks because it's rude-" He'd say, getting his master out of his nightshirt, and into his suit. "...Third of all, I can't tell you the last time you've taken a day off. Dareisay, you never take one." The butler said to the teen, a friendly smile on his lips as he tied a sapphire blue ribbon around his little lord's neck. "Which is a problem...You are a child, after all, and you should have time to have fun, don't you think?"

The boy sighed and gave the older man another shrug. "I guess so...The last time I ever went to 'supposedly' have 'fun' was back when Lizzy invited me to go on the Campania...God, what a trip that was."

"What a trip indeed," Sebastian shuddered softly, remembering the events of the trip...God, he hoped he wouldn't have to run into Undertaker for a good long while. 

A few minutes later, he finished up dressing his young master, tying the last ribbon on the boy's left boot, and with that, they both headed down the hall to start the day ahead of them.

* * *

"Sebastian didn't Lizzy say to meet us here...?" The Earl asked his butler, clearly a bit confused as they made it to the exact spot that his fiancee had shown them a month earlier, where they were going to have their little date that day. "Do you think she's held up by something, or whatever? She's always on time for everything she invites me. Including things, she had been invited. No, not on time - ungodly early! Is she alright?"

"Calm down, my Lord. I'm sure she's just running a bit late," Sebastian replied, putting a comforting hand on the younger boy's shoulder. "How about this- we wait fifteen more minutes, and if she's still not here, I go off and look for her? How does that sound, sir?" 

The small teen gave Sebastian a nod, a shaky sigh escaping the boy's lips. "Good, I guess..."  
  
"How about, while you wait, I get you something to read? I remember that you wanted that one book from a month or so back, but we couldn't find it when we looked. I could go and get it for you while you wait for her." Sebastian offered, earning yet another nod from the little earl. 

"That sounds good, thank you..."

"Your most welcome, sir. I shall be back before you know it." Sebastian said with a soft smile, bowing, and disappearing in what seemed in like an instant. 

After watching his butler leave, the Earl found himself walking off to a nearby fountain and peering into the water. Littered on the bottom of the fountain floor, was a field of coins. _'These are one's wishes, right?'_ The child thought, cocking his head to the side. _'I wonder what kind of things people wish ...If it were me I-'_

The child lost his train of thought, suddenly hearing noise coming from somewhere behind him. 

He whipped around, seeing nothing. Was someone here? 

Was it Lizzy?

_No, it couldn't be._

If it were, then he would 100% be tackled to the ground by now and hugged so hard he couldn't breathe, and Lizzy wasn't the type to sneak up on people.

Was it Sebastian?

_No, he just left._

All of a sudden, the teen felt an arm tightly wrap around his waist, and before he could say anything, a hand grabbed his mouth. 

"My my, whaddya got er', Lyod? Seems we got er' selves a lil' puppy~" The voice that *clearly* belonged to the man that was holding him, said, clear venom and vile dripping from each and every word he said.

His partner (and several presumed bodyguards, or something of the sort-) emerged from the several trees and bushes, surrounding the area that he and Lizzy had planned to have their date at. "Wha' a cute lil' thing ta' Earl is n' person, ain't he? Just a wee one, mhm?"

"I'm sure he'll get us a pretty sum, won't he, boss?"

"Of course - with a body like his, I'm sure we'll make a bloody fortune!"

His heart racing, "Ciel" made split decision to bite the man's hand as hard as he could- making the man yelp out in pain, accidentally letting him go. In that second, every passing second felt like a year. He didn't even bother to grab the satchel that he had brought that was nearby. 

He ran, as fast his small legs could carry him, not even sparing so much as a second to even think about where he was going. _'Go, go go- there not going to have me...I swear that they won't catch me, they won't ca-*_

"NOT SO FAST YOU LIL' SHIT!"

As he ran, the louder and more horrible the profanities screamed at him was, making him run even faster, which was a mistake. Eventually, it got to the point where he couldn't breathe, not even a little, causing him to collapse onto his knees, sweat streaming down his face as he gasped hysterically for air. "No...No..." he mumbled softly, tears streaming down his cheeks as he tried his best to get his feet. 

Placing his hands on the ground, he pushed himself up and shakily made his way to a nearby tree, the world practically spinning around him as he tried to get his focus back to normal. "S...e..." he started, only to get another wave of dizziness and nausea, practically knocking him right off his feet again. 

"Ah, there e' is. Not so fast, are we, Phantomhive?" The man that had grabbed him from before asked, a sinister look in his eyes as he walked towards the practically-heaving boy, and roughly picking him up, and slinging him over his shoulder like he was a sack of potatoes, and taking his leave, to the cart that he and his men had come in, a horrible grin on his lips as he tossed the child in, a couple of men holding the boy down, putting a cloth up to his mouth and nose.

_'Chlor...iform...'_

* * *

"Well, where is he? I don't have all day. The Young Master's fiancee was kind enough to invite him out on a date in Hyde Park, which you so rudely interrupted, and I'd like to return him to it before she worries too much." Sebastian asked, his arms crossed as he glared daggers at the man.

"Oh, don' worry, sir. I'll give em', but only if ya give me what I want."

"Fine," The butler snarled, digging into his coat pocket, and pulling out several crisp a hundred-pound banknotes, practically shoving them into the man's dirty hands. "Well, what are you waiting? You have what you want, now where IS HE?"

Just as Sebastian expected, the man had no intention of hiving his Lord up, no matter how many banknotes that he dumped into his grubby hands. Less than a minute later, there the demon was, surrounded by the man's goons, an array of weapons in their hands, ready to strike. "Am I even surprised you're doing this?" The "young" man asked, raising a coal-black eyebrow, an annoyed hand on his hip.

"No, I suppose not...But wiv' all the names yer Master has, I'm sure this has happened many, many times before...Though I have to say, I'm surprised. From what I heard, there's no talk about no bodyguards or nothin'. Just a butler - a lil' dandy in a tailcoat. Pathetic, skinny lil' thing, just like his Master. I don't suppose tha's you, hm~?"

"Unfortunately for you, good sir, I am~," Sebastian said, smirking, his eyes suddenly becoming an unnatural pink, and pupils becoming blood-red slits. 

He took a few steps towards the man, his form slowly, yet steadily becoming less and less human by each passing split-second, making the men surrounding him run off in terror...but it was already too late.

In less than two minutes, the warehouse had been covered from floor to ceiling hot, sticky blood. Guts and other insides of the men trailed Sebastian's path as he tore through them, limb by limb, enjoying every second of their torture, smiling all the way gleefully, reaching the last man before ripping his head off, and tossing it to the side like it was nothing more than trash. 

"What a bloody waste of time, this was..." The butler mumbled softly, slowly yet surely, his form returning to his human form, as he made his way in the direction of his Young Master. 'I do hope my Lord is alright...Though I heavily doubt he is. Just smelling his soul tells me that he's beyond terrified, and I'm afraid that he'll have nightmares for months because of this!' He thought with a nervous sigh, wiping himself off, leaving him shockingly completely clean and free of blood and any gut-remnants. 

"My Lord, are you there...? I do apologize for my lateness, but I assure you, I am here!" 

* * *

After what felt like an eternity, and what honestly felt like an honest-to-God miracle, he had finally managed to find his master. 

Deep in an office in the warehouse, he found "Ciel" locked in a cramped, disgustingly-damp closet. The boy sat there, curled up in a tiny ball, his shoulders shaking as he sobbed hysterically. His usually pale, peach arms and legs had now been completely covered in huge, nasty bluish-purplish bruises, and deep, bloody cuts. 

He couldn't help it, not at all. Sebastian stood there, practically shaking as the color drained from his face, tears practically pricking out of the corner of his eyes. "What the fuck...?" He mumbled softly, shaking his head as he got on his knees, gently taking his lord by his chin, lifting his face to see if there were any more injuries: a black eye, a bleeding nose and mouth, and a severely bruised cheek. "I-I'm sorry...So sorry, sir. I d-didn't mean to be such a bloody failure...."

The boy, tears streaming down his cheeks, and his patch completely soaked, he shook his head. "N-No, it's alright, please don't s-say that...You t-tried your best...." He whispered, shakily wiping his tears away. "Thank you for c-coming...I knew that you would, so that kept me going, I suppose..."

He sighed, pulling the boy into his arms and enveloping him into a loving hug, fighting back the tears that he told himself, that no matter what, he would never cry. They sat there, together, for what seemed like an eternity, in each other's arms before Sebastian decided to repeat something.

He felt like asking if he was okay was stupid, considering he wasn't, but it was the right thing to do, right...? _'After this, we'll go straight away to the hospital. I'm sure the longer we wait, the more at risk we are for something horrible to happen....'_

“My Lord, _are you alright…?”_

Sebastian asked his young master, his ruby red eyes widened with surprise, coming face to face a boy that he hadn’t seen since **_That Day. _**

The boy before him was the boy his Master was before he decided to become his elder brother.

The boy before him was the boy was his Master before he had agreed to make a contract with him.  
  
The boy before him was the boy his Master was before everything.  
  
_This was the boy in the cage._  
  
What was he thinking?  
Was he alright?  
  
_No, you fool. Of course, he isn’t. You remember this scene, don’t you? You retain all the things…Those hooligans put him through, correct? _

  
  
They put him in small, cramped spaces. _It terrified him. _They screamed profanities at him. _It hurt him._

They told him all the things they wanted to “do” to him. _It broke him._

  
  
_He was in the cage._  
His master, at that point, _was in the cage._

  
  
It didn’t matter if he was actually in one (he wasn’t - was in a small closet that they locked him in, after beating and saying rather…deporable things to his Young Master), he was in the cage. 

“S-Sebastian, I…I’m scared…They said they w-we’re going to sell m-me off, and kill the servants...”

He sat there, for the first time in forever, feeling completely numb. His heart ached. He felt like he, for the first time, was literally about to cry. 

  
  
No.

  
  
**NO.**

  
  
“Whatever those bastards said, it’s not going to happen. They’re all gone, and I made sure of it. Nothing bad is ever going to happen to you, especially like what they wanted to do to you. I promise.”

"R-Really...?" "Ciel," asked, looking up towards his butler, as the older man scooped him up, and started down the hallway. 

"Would I ever lie to you, sir? When I say that I promise, I shall always keep that promise. Now, let's be off. I need to get you to the hospital - I don't want you to be in any more pain then you have to, and I'm sure you agree."

The boy nodded, resting his head on his butler's shoulder as Sebastian closed the door to the warehouse, heading off to the Royal London Hospital. "Mhm...Yeah..."

  
_I promise, my lord. No matter what harm tries to get you into its grasp, no matter what anyone wants from you, I will always be there you protect you…No thing the cost. _


End file.
